Avalon gym
by TomBydand
Summary: Seven years ago two school friends fell out and never spoke again. Arthur only went to the gym to clear his head, now he is faced with his former roommate and learns why certain things happened, is this a new start? Merlin/Arthur friendship modern AU non slash


**hello, so guess what... MY BLOODY LAPTOP BROKE AGAIN! that is the main reason i haven't updated anything in a while, i don't want to go on and on about my self but, i' unemployed and living at home so its taken this long to get enough money to sort out myself. anyway onto this story. i've noticed a lot of stories cropping up on here were merlin is still the scrawny delicate little flower and needs people to protect him. I'm not knocking them, i read and enjoy them, but it isn't really accurate anymore. merlin in the series may still be a servant but he has started acting like emrys, and colin morgan is most certainly NOT scrawny any more. there have even been moment this year where he has looked more toned and built than bradley. so this is my humble little attempt to provide another angle. merlin and arthur on equal footing. **

**backstory:scholarship student merlin is lumped in a dorm with richkid arthur in their first year at a top boarding school. over the years they become unlikely friend untill a massive fight in their final years makes them estranged. now, following a scandal with uthur pendragon, arthur is trying to make his own way. will a chance encounter with his former friend change things for the better or just make life more complicated.**

**I don't own Merlin. Or it'characters I just own this plot. Hope you like it...**

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the blonde man puffed as she finished up his time on the treadmill, Avalon health club was one of the newer gyms in the area but already had proven to be the best, and arthur pendragon settled for nothing but the best. he took sip of water turning when he heard someone laughing behind him.

"thats a little pathetic by your standards pendragon" the dark haired man said with a hint of laughter, his blue eyes shining with mirth. arthur had to do a double take, the man had midnight black hair and piercing blue eyes, his ears were larger than normal, he was well built but not in any obvious way.

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"merlin?" arthur asked unsure, the last time he had seen merlin they were sharing a room at school it was eight years ago, and merlin had very much been a stick insect. things had apparently changed. "merlin what are you doing in my gym?" arthur asked aiming for the same air of casual authority he had held when they were at school. it was hard to tell if it worked, merlin just laughed at him, thats what he did at school.

"i could ask you the same thing arthur. what are you doing in MY gym." arthur glared at his old school friend. they had fallen out massively the last time they had been in a room together, the reasons for which arthur never found out. "as the former football, polo, and rowing captain i would have thought it was obvious what i was doing here, you on the other hand, have the coordination of a drunk ape and should not be allowed near a gym, ever" merlin smiled gently.

"that would make my life rather hard, you misunderstood me earlier. when i said 'my gym' i meant, 'my' gym. i own avalon, all of them." arthur was sure his jaw had just lost out to gravity and hit the floor.

"all of them?"

"yes, all 30 of them" merlin looked at arthur before speaking again as he motioned for the blonde to follow him, as arthur followed he found himself staring at Merlin's back. he wasn't gay, never had been never would be, but, he really felt an urge to ask merlin how to get a defined back like that, his back muscles had always been his weak link and arthur felt it un fair on any potential girlfriends if he didn't look his best form all angles. he was brought out of his thoughts when merlin asked the question he knew was coming. "do you remember what happened the last time we saw each other?"

"oh you mean when you tore me to shreds without lifting a finger with words alone then kicked me in the nuts and stormed off year i remember that merlin, just a little." merlin sighed and pushed open a door that lead into a small office, it was packed with books on anatomy and medicine, and pictures of merlin with a woman arthur vaguely remembered as his mother and a boy he thought might have been merlins best friend form home. "you told me not to be such a girl about a news report that had nothing to do with me, you said your father couldn't have done anything with out reason." arthur shuddered, recent events had proven that wrong. "do you remember what that news report had been about?"

"father was trying to sue some bloke in america for breaching a contract or something, why?" merlin clenched his fist on the table.

"28 years ago a young irish man fell in love with a humble woman he met as part of his research. they fell in love they were engaged to be married when he landed a dream job, then one man stole one of his ideas and claimed it was legal he sued that man from ireland. he made it so that he couldn't work in britain or even ireland, he made it so the whole or europe would be tough, so the man left went to america, but his fiancee was forced to stay to look after an ailing mother. 26 years ago that woman had a son a son who would never know who his father was." arthur felt the colour drain form his face as realization dawned.

"Ballinor was your father! oh god and i told you to hut up and stop being a girl about my father's actions, merlin, i'm so..."

"don't you dare say you're sorry. it won't change the past it won't do any good or any harm. so don't say it. it has a happy ending." merlin tried to smile but this one was less convincing.

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"you're father didn't succeed, my father was half irish and half american, he went to boston, to harvard and trained himself up in business studies, he set up a fitness scheme that all the ivy league institute picked up. he was smart, very smart he knew ivy league graduates would go on to get good jobs he made his creation something they couldn't do without, and then instigated the program in cities near the high power jobs, then spread out from there. dragon fitness is now a global phenomenon. after i waked out on you i went back to ealdor, mum told me she had saved up, saved up and bought me ticket to america. i found my father, reconnected with him, he taught me the intricacies of what he did. and i thought myself about medicine and anatomy, i took a course got qualified. in a sick way, i should thank you're father." arthur frowned.

"about that, i don't know what you have seen or heard, but the rumours are true, i am helping them take him down, i am placing my sister in charge of camelot. the crimes he has committed are to despicable for words, i know it's to late for your, for your father, but i promise you this, dragon-lord, you will see justice." merlin smiled slightly at that, people had taken to calling Ballinor 'the dragon lord' after he became the first person in history to take on the pendragon's and win a lawsuit. the title infuriated Uthur of course he saw it as a personal dig at himself.

"well when your father had him assassinated, who the hell does that anymore by the way? seriously if you have a feud or disagree with someone send an angry letter or i don't know kick them in the bollocks, don't have them killed." Merlin's accent had changed arthur noticed, he realized now was not the time to notice that, but while it had once been crisp and english his years living and working with his father had brought out a slight irish twang with american inflections.

"anyway, father had amassed a bit of money, he left it all to me, as well as royalties and the majority hares in his business, i used some of it to set up my gym. you said you are putting Morganna in charge of camelot?" Arthur raised an eyebrow at the abrupt change in subject.

"yes? i am why do you ask?"

"will you be staying on to help her?"

"probably not, we argue enough as it is, us working together in business would be a bad idea, the only thing stopping us from killing each other as it is is a mutual loathing of our father. no i've been thinking i need a change for a while, as you said earlier, three minuets on a tread mill is pathetic, for me. i should be able to do more than that."

"would you like a job here?"

arthur tilted his head studying merlin, tying to see if his old roommate really had finally gone mad. "um, work for you?" merlin nodded. "well i suppose i could do worse."

"great!" merlin hopped up from his chair and walked round his desk and approached Arthur with his arms open arthur took a step back and sent a bemused look at merlin. "what are you doing" merlin asked.

"i thought you were going for a hug."

"NOooo."

"Ok good." they smiled at each other before merlin stepped forward again arthur meant to say 'thank you for the job instead he said:

"you're not going to kick me again are you?"

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**This is a one shot for now, but it is highly likely I'll add to it if enough people like it, if I do continue there will be the knights aI personal trainers and gwen as a kids swimming teacher. As well as other characters from the show, hey if any one feels like leavening a review that would be nice. Also, I really am sorry my computerisn't so temperamental hopefully it will actually be fully fixed now, so I'll be able to start posting again.**


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